Electing the Antichrist

Scott Hardie | August 9, 2008
I've been annoyed for some time by the suggestions that Obama is literally the Antichrist. TIME has just published a review of the movement to date, now that McCain's campaign ads have started riding the bandwagon. Seriously? There are plenty of retarded beliefs about public figures, but this one is out there. With all due respect to reasonable Christians, the roots of my problems with the Antichrist argument are:

1) Your religious beliefs are damaging our secular world. It's like the Kansas board of education slapping "evolution is only a theory" warning stickers in science textbooks, an effort to make every child as dumb as they are. Even beyond its effect on the election's outcome, this poisons the political discourse.

2) Every generation thinks they're the ones to realize ancient prophecies. For as long as end-times predictions have been made, going back into the Dark Ages and beyond, ordinary folk think they're going to witness end-times. Vigilance for prophecied signs is one thing, but it takes a special kind of arrogance to think that you're the intended benefactor of a 2000-year-old prophecy when everyone before you turned out to be wrong by thinking the same about themselves.

3) The Antichrist already ranks among the fringe elements in Christian mythology. Obama opponents believe in it so much that they denounce him, and yet they don't even bother to get the details right? This is the least rational argument about a candidate in some time.

Jackie Mason | August 9, 2008
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Tony Peters | August 9, 2008
McCain has lost his soul....the posiblity of becoming president has made him sacrifice everything he used to beleive in...I lost all respect when he said torture was acceptable

Jackie Mason | August 9, 2008
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Amy Austin | August 9, 2008
Jesus Antichrist.

Samir Mehta | August 11, 2008
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Amy Austin | August 11, 2008
In fact, this is the whole basis of their disinterest (ok, some of them) in dealing with the environment.

I never thought about it like this before... but your brilliant "strategy" is cracking me up!

Samir Mehta | August 11, 2008
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Amy Austin | August 11, 2008
No, I understand that... it's just so "fringe" (at least, I hope) that it doesn't really occur to you (me), and when it does it seems (both) funny (and scary).